Adhyaya 42
Chapter 42 records Īśvara’s guidance to Devī on how to approach and worship Chandīśa in Prabhāsa-kṣetra, identifying the shrine by directional and nearby landmarks—near Somēśa/Īśa dig-bhāga and not far south of Daṇḍapāṇi’s abode. It affirms the shrine’s sanctity by recalling that Chandā and a gaṇa, after severe tapas, earlier installed and worshiped here, giving rise to the famed Chandēśvara liṅga. The chapter then sets out an ordered pūjā: abhiṣeka with milk, curd, and ghee; anointing with honey, sugarcane juice, and saffron; fragrant unguents such as camphor, uśīra, musk essence, and sandal; offerings of flowers, incense and aguru; cloth according to one’s means; naivedya (especially paramānna) with lamps; and dāna/dakṣiṇā to dvijātis. It teaches place-specific fruits: gifts offered while facing south become inexhaustible for Chandīśa; śrāddha performed south of Chandīśa grants lasting satisfaction to the ancestors; and an uttarāyaṇa observance offering a ghṛta-kambala (ghee-blanket) is said to avert harsh rebirth. The conclusion praises pilgrimage-bhakti to Śūlin as expiatory, freeing beings from sins arising from nirmālya-related transgressions, inadvertent consumption, and other karma-born faults.
Shlokas
Verse 1
ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि चण्डीशं देवमुत्तमम् । सोमेशादीशदिग्भागे धनुषां सप्तके स्थितम्
Īśvara said: Then, O Mahādevī, one should go to the excellent deity Caṇḍīśa, situated seven bow-lengths away in the north-eastern direction from Someśa.
Verse 2
दण्डपाणेस्तु भवनाद्दक्षिणे नातिदूरगम् । चंड्या प्रतिष्ठितं पूर्वं चण्डेनाराधितं ततः
To the south of the abode of Daṇḍapāṇi, not very far away, it was formerly established by Caṇḍī, and thereafter worshipped by Caṇḍa.
Verse 3
गणेन मम देवेशि तत्कृत्वा दुष्करं तपः । तेन चण्डेश्वरं लिंगं प्रख्यातं धरणीतले
O Goddess, my gaṇa (attendant) performed arduous austerities there; because of him, that Liṅga became renowned on earth as “Caṇḍeśvara.”
Verse 4
स्नापयेत्पयसा पूर्वं दध्ना घृतयुतेन च । मधुनेक्षुरसेनैव कुंकुमेन विलेपयेत्
First one should bathe the Liṅga with milk; then with curd mixed with ghee; and with honey and sugarcane-juice as well, one should anoint it with saffron (kesar).
Verse 5
कर्पूरोशीरमिश्रेण मृगनाभिरसेन च । चन्दनेन सुगन्धेन पुष्पैः संपूजयेत्ततः
Then one should worship fully with fragrant sandalwood, with a mixture of camphor and uśīra, with musk-essence, and with flowers.
Verse 6
दग्ध्वा धूपं पुरो देवि ततो देवस्य चागुरुम् । वस्त्रैः संपूजयेत्पश्चादात्मवित्तानुसारतः
Having first offered dhūpa (incense) before the Deity, O Goddess, one should then offer fragrant aguru to the Lord; thereafter, according to one’s means, one should worship Him with cloth-offerings.
Verse 7
नैवेद्यं परमान्नं च दत्त्वा दीपसम न्वितम् । ततो दद्याद्द्विजातिभ्यो यथाशक्त्या तु दक्षिणाम्
After offering naivedya—especially fine cooked food—together with a lamp, one should then give dakṣiṇā to the twice-born, according to one’s ability.
Verse 8
दक्षिणां दिशमास्थाय यत्किंचित्तत्र दीयते । चण्डीशस्य वरारोहे तत्सर्वं चाक्षयं भवेत्
Whatever is given there while facing the southern direction, O fair-hipped one, in relation to Caṇḍīśa, all of it becomes imperishable in merit.
Verse 9
यः श्राद्धं कुरुते तत्र चण्डीशस्य तु दक्षिणे । आकल्पं तृप्तिमायांति पितरस्तस्य भामिनि
Whoever performs śrāddha there, on the southern side of Caṇḍīśa, O radiant lady, his ancestors attain satisfaction for an entire age—throughout a kalpa.
Verse 10
अयने चोत्तरे प्राप्ते यः कुर्याद्घृत कम्बलम् । न स भूयोऽत्र संसारे जन्म प्राप्नोति दारुणम्
When the northern solstice (uttarāyaṇa) has arrived, whoever performs the rite of the “ghee-blanket” (ghṛta-kambala) does not again obtain a dreadful birth in this worldly cycle.
Verse 11
एवं कृत्वा नरो भक्त्या यात्रां देवस्य शूलिनः । निर्माल्यातिक्रमोद्भूतैरज्ञानाद्भक्षणोद्भवैः । पापैः प्रमुच्यते जंतुस्तथाऽन्यैः कर्मसंभवैः
Thus, having performed with devotion the pilgrimage (yātrā) of the trident-bearing Lord (Śūlin), a person is freed from sins—those arising from transgressing the sacred nirmālya (consecrated offerings), those arising from eating them in ignorance, and also other sins born of one’s actions (karma).
Verse 42
इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां सप्तमे प्रभासखण्डे प्रथमेप्रभासक्षेत्रमाहात्म्ये चण्डीशमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनामद्विचत्वारिंशोऽध्यायः
Thus ends the forty-second chapter, called “The Description of the Greatness of Caṇḍīśa,” in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa—within the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya—of the venerable Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the Ekāśītisāhasrī Saṃhitā.